Ukrainian soldiers prepare to fire US-made "M109" self-propelled howitzer on the frontline in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on February 17, 2023. Photo: IC

From a hero's welcome in the US Capitol in 2022 to facing a now bitterly divided Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has found himself in increasing difficulties in lobbying Washington. Such a sharp shift in attitudes in the US has exposed that the true nature of the so-called commitment to Ukraine has always been US-centric, other than caring for the Ukrainian people, analysts said on Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press (AP,) Zelensky, who kicked off his quick visit to Washington on Monday, issued a personal plea for Congress to break its deadlock and approve continued support for Ukraine. 

This is Zelensky's third visit to Washington since the war in Ukraine began, and comes at a critical moment in congressional negotiations for emergency aid to Kiev. Congress appears no closer to a deal tying immigration and border policy changes to the emergency aid package that will provide funding for Ukraine and Israel before lawmakers leave town for the holidays, CNN reported.

Cui Heng, an assistant research fellow at the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that Zelensky was hailed as a hero by the West in 2022, not because of his personal excellence, but "because the West needed Zelensky to exhaust Russia at the expense of the Ukrainian people." 

"The nearly two-year Russia-Ukraine conflict did not bring down Russia as the West had hoped. Instead, high inflation caused by the conflict has brought great suffering to Western people, and opposition to aid for Ukraine is growing stronger in Western countries," Cui said. 

Nearly half of American voters think the US is spending too much on aid for Ukraine, according to the latest FT-Michigan Ross monthly poll that underscores the fragility of domestic support, according to media report on Monday. 

"This public opinion against the backdrop of the American elections puts tremendous pressure on both parties. This is why Biden is tightening his stance on aid to Ukraine and Congress is making trouble in the Ukraine aid bill," Cui said. 

Russia on Friday accused the US of making "billions of dollars" at the expense of ordinary Ukrainian citizens' lives, urging Kiev to understand that Americans are always concerned with themselves. "Ukraine must understand that it is not the main concern of the US. The main concern for the US has always been the Americans themselves. And even at the cost of a large number of lives of those same Ukrainians," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing in Moscow.

"Zelensky has become deeply involved in the domestic partisan struggle in the US, which is not good for him. This means that many Republicans would oppose continued US assistance to Ukraine, precisely because Zelensky stands too closely with the White House," Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

The difficulty in resolving the Ukraine issue, to some extent, aligns with the domestic political agenda of the Republicans. It is an optimal diplomatic issue for Republicans to manipulate to embarrass the White House and the Democrats. We can see how toxic this process is to overall US foreign policy decisions, Li said, noting that "being friend with the US carries risks, something Ukraine should be realizing now."

Observers noted that from the event where senior US state department official Victoria Nuland handed out cookies to protesters in central Kiev amid a color revolution in December of 2013, to the current war in Ukraine, they all prove that the US bears the biggest responsibilities of the Ukraine crisis both at home and abroad.  

US' intervention in Ukraine's internal affairs has led to the country being engulfed in war and potentially facing territorial division. Becoming partner or ally with the US is highly risky, which Ukraine's political elites lack basic understanding and recognition, Li said.